"One inch at a time..."      

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY (R)

Reviewed December 29, 1999 - Check out the Any Given Sunday Website.

Studio Synopsis: No matter who you are, no matter what you do for a living, there’s always somebody younger, faster and stronger coming right up behind you. At the crossroads of his life, Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) has finally come to that realization.

Four years ago, D’Amato’s Miami Sharks had nailed two AFFA (Associated Football Franchises of America) championships in a row, but in pro years, that’s a lifetime. Now, his team is struggling with three consecutive losses, sliding attendance, and aging heroes, particularly 39-year-old quarterback Jack "Cap" Rooney (Dennis Quaid), who’s desperately clinging to what’s left for him as a player.

Off the field, D’Amato is dealing with a failed marriage and estranged children, and is on a collision course with Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), the young president/co-owner of the Sharks organization.

Fuzzydog Review: Watching Oliver Stone's On Any Given Sunday is like watching two films (and at nearly three hours of runtime, it's just about as long as two films).  On the one hand, On Any Given Sunday feels like a smash-mouth, in-your-face sports/action film, complete with a dramatic race for the playoffs and your standard fourth-quarter heroism.  On the other hand, On Any Given Sunday feels like a smash-mouth, in-your-face human melodrama, complete with morals on youth, experience, leadership, passion, loss and regret. 

Without a doubt, the on-the-field sports/action sequences here are brilliant, and Oliver Stone deserves a great deal of credit for bringing such a visceral immediacy to the play-by-play on screen.  Off-the-field, unfortunately, this film doesn't quite manage to evoke the same admirable intensity.  Though a number of the interpersonal conflicts and intrigues in this film do manage to hold one's attention, many of them (e.g., Rooney & his wife, Pagniacci and the Football Commissioner) simply fall flat.  It's as if Stone didn't quite know when to stop, attempting to make a full-blown epic out of what should have been a tightly-woven tale.  Thank goodness for the superb performances of Pacino and Diaz, and the equally engaging performance of a large supporting cast including Dennis Quiad, Jamie Foxx, Matthew Modine, James Woods and Lawrence Taylor...if nothing else, these performances definitely keep the film afloat.

There are some truly magical moments in On Any Given Sunday; unfortunately, too many of them happen strictly on-the-field, and too few of them happen off-the-field.  It's your call as to whether that's worth the three hour investment of your entertainment time...

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

Sam M. gives this movie  stars: "This movie was sooo intense and exsighting that it made everyones adrinlene rush. how could you not like it? This movie shows incredible views on the NFL industry and how it really works. Well if you not a foot ball fan then its not for you. however seeing hot guys rolling about in tighs acting tough? need i say more?" (6/21/00)

Sara Smith gives this movie  stars: "The movie didn't contain the intensity in the off-fiels segments as was required to keep viewers interested." (1/3/00)